System and method to create and operate an electronic marketplace of trusted banks for participation in commercial loans too large for an individual bank

ABSTRACT

The technology disclosed relates to creation and operation of a marketplace among trusted small and medium sized banks for participation in commercial loans too large for an individual participating bank to undertake on its own. This technology can be applied to formation of other marketplaces in which trust matters and controlled dissemination of opportunity information, as in layers or rounds, proceeds manually. Aspects of the technology disclosed can be used by initiators and participants to syndicate loans once a marketplace is established, whether the market is established applying the technology disclosed or otherwise. This technology also can be applied to syndicate other opportunities or to resell participations in syndicated loans that have closed and been funded.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/612,213, titled “System and Method to Create and Operate anElectronic Marketplace of Trusted Banks for Participation in CommercialLoans Too Large for an Individual Bank,” filed Feb. 2, 2015, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.61/935,298, titled “System and Method to Create and Operate anElectronic Marketplace of Trusted Banks for Participation in CommercialLoans Too Large for an Individual Bank,” filed on Feb. 3, 2014. Thepriority applications are is incorporated by reference in its entiretyfor all purposes.

BACKGROUND Field

The technology disclosed relates to creation and operation of amarketplace among trusted small and medium sized banks for participationin commercial loans too large for an individual participating bank toundertake on its own. This technology can be applied to formation ofother marketplaces in which trust matters and controlled disseminationof opportunity information, as in layers or rounds, proceeds manually.Aspects of the technology disclosed can be used by initiators andparticipants to syndicate loans once a marketplace is established,whether the market is established applying the technology disclosed orotherwise. This technology also can be applied to syndicate otheropportunities or to resell participations in syndicated loans that haveclosed and been funded.

Introduction

Small and medium-sized banks have difficulty competing with large banksfor multi-million dollar commercial loans. Limited capital restrictstheir ability to compete. They have less absolute capacity for fundingloans. They also have less capacity for concentrated risks.

There are many more small and medium-sized banks than large banks—thereare more than 4000 regulated small banks in the United States. Thesebanks are geographically dispersed and have small loan departments. Someof them are in small communities or rural areas.

Banks in small communities have occasional opportunities to initiate andissue multimillion dollar commercial loans. For instance, a localbusiness may become wildly successful and need capital to expand. Or, anew housing boom may convert rural land into bedroom community housing.Or, an agricultural operation may expand. These opportunities may be outof proportion to the small local bank's loan capacity. They are oftenone-off opportunities.

Small and medium-sized banks sometimes compete with large banks bysyndicating a loan package. The chief credit officer (CCO) of theinitiating bank works their Rolodex and phone. They call CCOcounterparts that they trust at other banks. This process is limited bythe size of the chief credit officer's circle of trust. It istime-consuming and typically relies on non-secure, inefficient exchangeof documents.

An opportunity arises, from new insights into formation conditions for amarketplace that has never existed in an organized form, to create andoperate an electronic marketplace in which trusted chief credit officersof banks market opportunities, syndicate and resell participations incommercial loans that exceed the capacity of an individual small ormedium-sized bank.

SUMMARY

The technology disclosed relates to creation and operation of amarketplace among trusted small and medium sized banks for participationin commercial loans too large for an individual participating bank toundertake on its own. This technology can be applied to formation ofother marketplaces in which trust matters and controlled disseminationof opportunity information, as in layers or rounds, proceeds manually.Aspects of the technology disclosed can be used by initiators andparticipants to syndicate loans once a marketplace is established,whether the market is established applying the technology disclosed orotherwise. This technology also can be applied to syndicate otheropportunities or to resell participations in syndicated loans that haveclosed and been funded.

Other aspects and advantages of the technology disclosed can be seen onreview of the drawings, the detailed description and the claims, whichfollow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example environment of forming and operating anelectronic marketplace used by trusted banks to syndicate loans.

FIG. 2 is a high-level block diagram of the membership vetting engine.

FIG. 3 is a high-level block diagram that illustrates new opportunityprocessing, group processing, opportunity posting, posting search andfiltering, and an opportunity organizer.

FIG. 4 is a high-level block diagram that illustrates requestprocessing, confidentiality processing, initiator approval posting,details accessibility and destruction confirmation.

FIG. 5 is a high-level block diagram that illustrates reservationprocessing, full roster issuer processing, full roster participantprocessing, document processing and funds processing.

FIG. 6 illustrates a high level message flow among an initiating bank,the system, a participating bank and, in some aspects, loan clearing andservicing.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example interface that supports browsing ofopportunities and banks.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example interface for applying to join electronicloan participation marketplace.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example interface for viewing and maintaining aparticular user profile. Certain text in the figure is placeholder textin pseudo-Latin and has no English equivalent

FIG. 10 illustrates an example display of historical performance data.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example display of notifications. Certain text inthe figure is placeholder text in pseudo-Latin and has no Englishequivalent

FIG. 12 illustrates an example listing of messages.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example filter set select opportunities.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example an example display of opportunities andprocess for particular bank. Certain text in the figure is placeholdertext in pseudo-Latin and has no English equivalent

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of bank financials and metrics calculatedfrom unpublished data.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example search window and list of opportunitiesreturned by a search.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example detailed description of an opportunity.Certain text in the figure is placeholder text in pseudo-Latin and hasno English equivalent

FIG. 18 illustrates an example listing of displays for particulartransaction. The dashboard of transaction status can appear on this orany other detail page. Certain text in the figure is placeholder text inpseudo-Latin and has no English equivalent

FIG. 19 illustrates an example dashboard of loan participantinformation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A detailed description of implementations of the technology disclosed isprovided with reference to the FIGS. 1-19.

Marketplace Organization

A major innovation by these inventors has been to understand from apractical perspective one set of conditions sufficient for establishmentof an electronic automated marketplace for loan participation amongsmall and medium sized banks of multi-million dollar commercial loansthat would be considered too large for an initiating bank to undertakeon their own. Elements considered enabling to creation of a marketplaceare: First, the marketplace vets participating executives, typicallychief credit officers, of small and medium sized banks in a way thatinstills trust and confirms authorization of individuals to transactbusiness. Second, the marketplace automates marketing and participationin opportunities. Third, initiating CCOs control the audience for theopportunities that they post. Fourth, opportunities are described in aconsistent manner to facilitate automatic processing. Fifth, escalationof information dissemination to include confidential information of theprospective borrowers and initiating banks is preceded by execution of aconfidentiality agreement by an executive or delegate with authority tobind the potentially participating bank. Optionally, calculatedstatistics on performance of at least initiating banks fromnon-published sources is handy for review when consideringopportunities. It may be that a marketplace could be created underslightly less rigorous conditions, such as if users were required torely their own prior experience with or perform research into thebackground of an initiating bank. As another example, standingagreements for confidentiality could be applied to particularopportunities without renegotiation or reexecution. Aspects of thetechnology disclosed empower or build on the availability of a new kindof marketplace however it comes into existence.

Realizing conditions that may be sufficient for creating an electronicautomated marketplace for loan participation among small and mediumsized banks could be considered an exercise in experimental economics,in that the insights of these inventors about small and medium sizedbank loan participation cannot be derived from standard economic,banking or computer operating principles. These inventors wereparticularly well situated to reach their insights from their experienceas managers within a highly rated small bank that regularly participatesin loan participation. The named inventors are not presently aware ofany suggestion or effort by others to create an automated marketplacefor participation among small and medium sized banks of multi-milliondollar commercial loans with the characteristics suggested by theirinsights.

A new computer system allows establishment and operation of anelectronic marketplace for participation in commercial loans larger thanan issuing bank is willing to take on by themselves, as shown in FIG. 1,which is described below.

Trust among participants in this marketplace is reinforced by vettingentry and membership. See FIG. 2. This mixes automated processes andhuman judgment. It is backstopped by objective profile and historicalperformance data that describes participants. Trust can be extended froma core of trusted individuals to persons that they trust, by implicitvouching. Potential participants are encouraged to join in loanparticipation when those that they trust have already joined inparticipation, following their lead.

Degrees of trust are personal to individual CCOs and are managedaccordingly. See FIG. 3.

Standardized opportunity presentation displays facilitate considerationof more opportunities than would be possible using existing manualmodels. See FIGS. 3-4. Searching and filtering capabilities build onstandardized opportunity presentations. Standardized opportunitypresentation facilitates access to more banks in more regions thancurrent processes allow. This spreads risk and allows participation withsmaller parts of deals. It allows banks to initiate larger loans, asmultiples of their capital. It eases and automates coordination. It isexpected to change the scale of participation by orders of magnitude orat least significantly.

Role-based participation by officers and employees of banks separatesanalysis from decision-making and authorization. This can separate theprocess of sourcing loans from analysis and decision making.

Formally authorized escalation of access to opportunity informationprotects borrower privacy and initiating bank prospects. See FIG. 4.

One new result is exposure of an opportunity to a wider circle oftrustworthy, vetted CCOs than manual methods accomplish. Another newresult is a display to an interested CCO of a wider range ofparticipation opportunities than can presently be viewed at once.Establishing a marketplace of trusted CCOs creates a price discoveryopportunity (which is beyond the scope of this disclosure and thesubject of a future disclosure.)Improved market efficiency is likely togreatly reduce transaction costs and improve liquidity.

Combination of wider exposure and standardized documentation createsopportunities to concentrate a bank's participation within a loan typesegment or to diversify participation among loan type segments. In thisapplication, a loan type categorizes collateral backing of the loan anda category of use of the loan proceeds. From the Federal FinancialInstitutions Examination Council's (FFIEC's) required Report ofConditions, instructions for schedule RC-C part 1, major loan typesinclude: (1) Loans secured by real estate; (2) Commercial and industrialloans; (3) Loans to individuals for household, family and other personalexpenditures; and (4) All other loans. These major loan types can bedivided into subtypes. Subtypes of Loans secured by real estate include:(a) Construction, land development and other land loans; (a1) 1-4 familyresidential construction loans; (a2) Other construction loans and allland development and other land loans; (b) Secured by farmland; (c)Secured by 1-4 family residential properties; (c1) Revolving, open-endloans secured by 1-4 family residential properties and extended underlines of credit, etc. Examples of loans included in Commercial andindustrial loans, which can be adopted as subtypes, include: (a) mining,oil- and gas-producing, and quarrying companies; (b) manufacturingcompanies of all kinds, including those which process agriculturalcommodities; (c) construction companies; (d) transportation andcommunications companies and public utilities; (e) wholesale and retailtrade enterprises and other dealers in commodities; (f) cooperativeassociations including farmers' cooperatives; (g) service enterprisessuch as hotels, motels, laundries, automotive service stations, andnursing homes and hospitals operated for profit; (h) insurance agents;and (i) practitioners of law, medicine, and public accounting. Subtypesof loans to individuals include: (a) Credit cards; (b) Other revolvingcredit plans; (c) Automobile loans; (d) Other consumer loans; etc. Thesecategorizations are taken from the September 2013 version ofinstructions for completion of forms FFIEC 031 and 041, accessed fromthe FFIEC.gov web site, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Theseterms are more fully described in the glossary to the instructions. Inaddition to the regulatory types and subtypes, commercial subtypes canbe adopted for marketing and analysis. The commercial subtypes describefunctionally significant market segments that correspond to bank“appetites” for participation in loans.

Automated access can be provided to profiles, performance histories andmetrics calculated from unpublished sources for initiating andparticipating banks. The FDIC maintains public records ofself-reporting, in quarterly call reports, and its own rating of banks.While these are so-called public records, they are unpublished and havehistorically required a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request togain access. The technology disclosed can further include calculatingmetrics of initiating and participating banks, of members of the loanparticipation marketplace, and making the calculated statistics readilyavailable.

Automated expansion of the audience for a participation offering canresult in over-subscription of interest in opportunities that currentpersonalized approaches discourage. In one implementation, the groupCCOs who receive notice of an opportunity expands, which generates morewidespread interest. In another implementation, the circle of CCOs whoreceive access to participate expands, which increases the number oflikely bids to participate. When notice of an opportunity is broaderthan access to participate, prospective participant CCOs have a newmechanism for gaining introductions to and eliciting the trust ofinitiating CCOs. When subscription to good opportunities is slightlydepersonalized, over-subscription is more likely than when a CCO ismaking direct contact with those in their personal circle of trust. Thisleads to potential over-reserved deals with a waiting list. In the abovenoted event where a participant drops out, the issuing bank immediatelyhas a waiting list of potential partners/fill-ins to the deal.

In contrast, current processes use a limited number of contacts to bringparticipation into a loan/deal. The CCO's universe of potentialparticipants is limited to current contacts. This limited, rolodex-basedaudience leads to only a few parties being involved and they are noteasily contacted. From this, the issuer generally stops seekingadditional outside involvement once a deal is full. In the event one ofthe participants needs to drop out, a new party is required to keep thedeal moving forward. This involves going back to the rolodex andcontacting others and getting them up to speed, hopefully in time tokeep the deal alive.

A multi-bank workflow (see FIG. 5) increases the likelihood of aparticipation proceeding to completion. Over-subscription and automatedexpansion help an initiating CCO overcome setbacks such as thewithdrawal of an interested bank from participation. The technologydisclosed allows little to no slowdown in getting the deal done.

In the future, it is expected that an auction based price discoverysystem will be implemented to complement the technology disclosed,leading to more beneficial terms for the issuer.

Among syndicated and already funded loans, an opportunity to resell loanparticipations arises. An individual CCO can go to the marketplace tosell or subdivide their syndicated interest. An aggregator can packagemultiple syndicated risks for resale or securitization with a reliableand computer accessible history of the underlying risks.

Combining syndicated loan package servicing management with the loanparticipation marketplace can enhance grading of risks (which is beyondthe scope of this disclosure and the subject of a future disclosure.) Abroader and more reliable performance history becomes available, in partbecause a servicing organization that publishes performance history isless likely to routinely grant technical exceptions to borrowerfinancial reporting requirements.

The technology disclosed can be enhanced by publishing public facingwebpages that describe members in the participation marketplace. Thisportal will allow a user to display past deals, resume information, loaninterest, etc. The portal will also have a CRM for customer informationand deal sourcing, a proposal generation tool as well as a unifiedmessaging system. The portal will be an all-encompassing web-basedapplication/solution for bankers, centralizing the tools key to dailyoperations that today are currently fragmented.

Banker's portal which encompasses all daily tools utilized to go aboutjob (CRM, Document Exchange, Unified Messaging, Calendars)

Structuring/managing sales/marketing campaigns

Client document uploads

Other 3^(rd) party tools lenders use as part of the job, built directly

The purpose of this portal is to allow a customer to view andcommunicate directly with a user for potential loans, allowing apotential loan customer to pass various data elements about a potentialloan to a lender as well upload any documents necessary to complete. Akey component of this exchange is the standardization of informationbased on which product is being requested. This creates efficiencies forboth the borrower and lender. This portal will also be used for a lenderto communicate any decisions that occur to the potential customer.

System Introduction

FIG. 1 shows an example environment 100 of forming and operating anelectronic marketplace used by trusted banks to syndicate loans. FIG. 1includes databases of member banks 114, opportunities 116 andperformance history 118. FIG. 1 also shows computing devices of at leastone vetter 162 and bank 176. These computing devices run an application163, 177 and connect to network(s) 145. Several engines, servers andsystems are shown: a membership vetting engine 132, an opportunityengine 142, a details server 138, a participation workflow 148 and aservicing workflow 168. In other implementations, environment 100 maynot have the same elements or components as those listed above and/ormay have other/different elements or components instead of, or inaddition to, those listed above, such as a database of tourist(non-bank) subscribers, multi-tiered web server architecture, ornumerous bank computing devices. The different elements or componentscan be combined into single software modules and multiple softwaremodules can run on the same hardware.

In some implementations, network(s) 145 can be any one or anycombination of Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), WiFi,WiMax, telephone network, wireless network, point-to-point network, starnetwork, token ring network, hub network, peer-to-peer connections likeBluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC), Z-Wave, ZigBee, or otherappropriate configuration of data networks, including the Internet.

In some implementations, the engines, servers and systems can be ofvarying types including a workstation, server, computing cluster, bladeserver, server farm, or any other data processing system or computingdevice. The engines, servers and systems can be communicably coupled tothe databases via a different network connection. For example, themembership vetting engine 132, database of performance history 118, anddatabase of member banks 114 can be coupled via a shared network 145(e.g., the Internet) or by direct local area network link(s).

In some implementations, the databases can be relational databasemanagement systems (RDBMSs), object oriented database management systems(OODBMSs), distributed file systems (DFS), no-schema database, or anyother data storing systems or computing devices. In someimplementations, computing devices 162, 176 can be a workstation,personal computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, smartphone,personal digital assistant (PDA), digital image capture devices, and thelike.

Applications 163, 177 can take one of a number of forms, including userinterfaces, dashboard interfaces, engagement consoles, and otherinterfaces, such as mobile interfaces, tablet interfaces, summaryinterfaces, or wearable interfaces. In some implementations, they can behosted on a web-based or cloud-based social application running on acomputing device such as a personal computer, laptop computer, mobiledevice, and/or any other hand-held computing device. They can also behosted on a non-social local application running in an on-premiseenvironment. In one implementation, application 124 can be accessed froma browser running on a computing device. The browser can be Chrome,Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and the like. In otherimplementations, application 124 can run as a computer desktopapplication.

Member bank database 114 specifies various entities (persons andorganizations) and their status within the electronic marketplace. Allof the banks regulated by federal agencies such as FFIEC and FDIC can becompiled in the member banks database 114 and their status a member ornot is updated when they enroll. Use of a government generated roster ofbanks can simplify enrollment and vetting. The persons can be associatedwith banks. In some implementations, bank officer background informationcan be compiled from regulatory filings. Persons not associated withbank can be granted a tourist status that allows them limited access tocertain information, but not participation in the marketplace.Regulators and economic forecasters, for instance, could be tourists. Insome implementations, multiple databases could store this information,such as a regulated banks database, a user's database, and an enrolledmembers' database. Or, separate tables or objects within a singledatabase could hold the different types of information.

Opportunities database 116 specifies opportunities for participation inloan participations. The opportunities database 116 in this figurerepresents a variety of data types, including pre-publication draftopportunities, published opportunity summaries, and detailed opportunityinformation. In some implementations, multiple databases could storethis information, or separate tables or objects within a single databasecould hold the different types of information.

Performance history database 118 stores performance histories of banks.One source of performance histories is filings with the FDIC that areconsidered public records, but which must be compiled and converted intoelectronic form for practical access. Bank ratings by FDIC or otherregulatory agencies reflect aggregate performance history. When themarketplace is integrated or cooperating with a servicing agency,disaggregated data about performance of individual loans can becomeavailable. More complete performance histories can be constructed fromloan servicing information than from call reports and the like filedwith banking agencies. In some implementations, multiple databases couldstore performance information, or separate tables or objects within asingle database could hold the different types of information.

Membership vetting engine 132 processes applications by banks to jointhe electronic marketplace for participation. One implementation of themembership vetting engine 132 is illustrated by FIG. 2. This figure is ahigh-level block diagram of the membership vetting engine 132. Itillustrates application processing 215, application dispatching 225,vetting result processing 235, and membership acceptance processing 245.Application processing 215 receives application information from auser's workstation, typically via a graphic user interface. The user canbe an applicant or person communicating with an applicant and enteringinformation on their behalf. When application is sufficiently complete,application dispatching 225 forwards the application to a human forvetting. In this application, vetting includes at least interviewing anexecutive of an applicant organization or running a background check.Vetting further includes applying human judgment before enrolling theapplicant organization in the loan participation marketplace. The systemreceives results of the human vetting through vetting result processing235. Vetting can result in the approval for enrollment, denial forenrollment or further inquiry. Vetting result processing 235 forwardsaccepted applications to membership acceptance processing 245, whichenrolls the applicant as a member of the electronic marketplace for loanparticipation. For instance, membership acceptance processing 245 canpost the new enrollee's status to the database of member banks 114. Itcan notify the new enrollee of acceptance and further steps to be taken.In other implementations, membership vetting engine 132 may not have thesame elements or components as those listed above and/or may haveother/different elements or components instead of, or in addition to,those listed above, such as a components to assist a human when vettingan application. The different elements or components can be combinedinto single software modules and multiple software modules can run onthe same hardware.

Opportunity engine 142 processes opportunities offered by initiatingbanks to potentially participating banks. These opportunities can beposted to other parties that are not initially eligible to participate.One implementation of the opportunity engine 142 is illustrated by FIG.3. This high-level block diagram illustrates new opportunity processing315, group processing 325, opportunity posting 335, posting search andfiltering 345, and opportunity organizer 355. New opportunity processing315 interacts with the user to assemble fielded information in astandardized format suitable for automated processing. Group processing325 interacts with the user to create one or more trusted groups ofprospects to whom opportunities be published. These trusted groups maybe constructed concentrically or based on different appetites. Potentialprospect banks can belong to multiple groups. List-based selection,criteria-based selection and drag-and-drop interfaces are all suitablefor creating trusted groups. Opportunity posting 335 publishesopportunities entered through new opportunity processing for viewing bypotential prospects that belong to groups established by groupprocessing 325. Opportunity posting 335 can distinguish between postingof opportunities for information and for potential participation. Anaudience able to view opportunities for information can be broader thanthe audience of potential participants. Postings search and filtering345 processes requests to view opportunities. In response to queries, itreturns the list of opportunities. In response the application offilters, it reduces the number of opportunities returned. Opportunityorganizer 355 interacts with the user's workstation to prioritize, tag,score or otherwise organize opportunities. It can set notificationtriggers for opportunities or groups of opportunities. For instance, itcan alert the user when a participation opportunity of interest reachesa 50% reservation level. As above, in other implementations, opportunityengine 142 may not have the same elements or components as those listedabove and/or may have other/different elements or components instead of,or in addition to, those listed above. The different elements orcomponents can be combined.

Details server 138 handles requests for detailed information and returnsresults. One implementation of the details server 138 is illustrated byFIG. 4. This high-level block diagram illustrates request processing415, confidentiality processing 425, initiator approval posting 435,details accessibility 445 and destruction confirmation 455. Generally,the details server implements confidential response to request fordetails. Request processing 415 interacts with prospects that areeligible to request detailed information. Confidentiality processing 425implements execution or ratification of the confidentiality agreementthat needs to be in place before detailed information is revealed.Confidentiality is significant because details of posted opportunitiescan involve confidential financial information of prospective borrowersand valuable opportunities of initiating banks. Applicants may not wishor expect for their financial information to be freely disseminated.Initiating banks control dissemination of information to minimize thelikelihood that a rival bank will identify a prospective borrower andcompete, instead of cooperating with the initiating bank. Execution orratification of an appropriate agreement by an authorized bank officeris essential to bind the bank to the agreement. It is helpful to conveyto subordinates that the bank means to respect the participation offeredby the initiating bank. Initiator approval posting them will 435interacts with an officer or delegate of the initiating bank who isspecifically authorized to approve requests for detailed informationfrom prospects. In some implementations, preapproval, contingent uponexecution or ratification of an appropriate agreement can be authorizedfor a group or subgroup of prospects as part of group processing 325.Details accessibility 445 is triggered by initiator approval posting435. When triggered, details accessibility 445 allows particular requeststores access to detailed information about a prospect. Destructionconfirmation 455 comes into play when a requester declines toparticipate or withdraws from participation. In some implementations,destruction confirmation 455 might be grouped with another componentsuch as participation workflow 148. Destruction confirmation can involveinteraction with prospect banks. It could further implement a documentmanagement component such as Digital Arts America's FinalCode, whichmonitors review of documents and permits a publisher to remotely cancelauthorization for a user to open or view a document, even when theuser's copy of the document resides on a user controlled system insteadof a publisher's system. As above, in other implementations, detailsserver 138 may not have the same elements or components as those listedabove and/or may have other/different elements or components instead of,or in addition to, those listed above. The different elements orcomponents can be combined.

Participation workflow 148 processes participation data flow andinteractions, following up on opportunities. One implementation of theparticipation workflow 148 is illustrated by FIG. 5. This high-levelblock diagram illustrates reservation processing 515, full roster issuerprocessing 525, full roster participant processing 535, documentprocessing 445 and funds processing 555. Reservation processing 515includes interaction with the user's workstation to receive areservation request for a part, percentage or dollar amount of theparticipation opportunity. An executive or delegate of a prospect banksteps up to requesting actual participation by submitting a reservationrequest. Reservation processing 515 receives the request, verifies theauthorization, and posts the reservation request for consideration bythe initiating bank. It also may support monitoring by the initiatingbank of progress towards completing the roster. It may interact withgroup processing 325 or opportunity posting 335 to expand eligibility toparticipate in the opportunity. For instance, if a roster is fillingslowly, an opportunity may be expanded from a group of most closelytrusted banks to a broader group or to all members of the loanparticipation marketplace. Two full roster components are indicated,which could readily be combined into one. The full roster, issuer orinitiating bank processing 525 interacts with the initiating bank oncethe roster is full, and ways further described below. The full roster,participant processing 535 interacts with participant banks to pre-closethe opportunity once the roster spoke. These components may carry outadditional steps in case of oversubscription. These components may becalled and action taken when a reservation level reaches 100 percent oran opportunity may be left open to see if it gathers anoversubscription. Document processing 545 assembles and processeselectronic execution for electronic submission of executed documentsneeded to close a participation. Funds processing 555 tracks submissionof funds by participating banks to a clearing bank and subsequentrelease of funds from the clearing bank for funding of the loanidentified in the participation opportunity. As above, in otherimplementations, participation workflow 148 may not have the sameelements or components as those listed and components can be combined.Another perspective on interaction among these components is provided bythe message flow diagram.

FIG. 6 illustrates a high level message flow among an initiating bank602, the system 604 (such as the system illustrated in FIG. 1), aparticipating bank 606 and, in some aspects, loan servicing 608.Initiating bank can also be described as the issuer bank, in the senseof issuing the opportunity and eventually issuing the loan. Theparticipating bank 606 is one that participates in the participationopportunity, following the lead of the initiating bank. Loan servicing608 can include both funds clearing and servicing the loan afterfunding, during repayment. Message flow condenses elements that mightotherwise be illustrated in the flow chart. The description that followsdescribes processes with respect to computer systems representing aninitiating bank, an electronic marketplace, participating banks and loanservicing Examples of these systems are described with respect toFIG. 1. For convenience, the processes referred to system components,but it will be understood that the electronic exchange of informationinvolved in these processes in the functional interaction betweenprocess steps could be accomplished using other different hardware.

The first flow is registration and vetting 610. Both initiating banks602 and participating banks 606 submit their applications orregistrations 612, 616 to the system 604. The system alerts a human tovet the applications received. The human takes steps 615 appropriate toverify trustworthiness of the applicant. These steps include at least aninterview with a bank officer or a background check on the applicantbank. Additional research by the human may include accessing aperformance history database for the applicant bank. The system 604receives results 615 of the human approval, rejection, or request foradditional information related to the application. Upon approval, thesystem 604 enrolls the applicant bank. Upon approval or rejection, thesystem 604 notifies initiating bank 602 or participating bank 606 oftheir status in messages 616, 618, respectively.

The second flow is publication and viewing 620. An initiating bank 602interacts with the system 604, such as new opportunity processing 315 toprepare an opportunity for publication 622. This includes entering datain a standard format established by the system 604. Preparing theopportunity for publication also involves the initiating bankidentifying one or more groups of prospects to whom the opportunity willbe available. In some implementations, separate groups of potentialprospects will be identified for publication of information and forpotential participation. In other implementations, the opportunity maybe published to all members and even to tourists, with the opportunityto participate being reserved to banks in a trusted group and verifiedby the initiating bank 602. When an opportunity is more widely publishedand then made available for participation, a bank may contact theinitiating bank 602 and request to be added to the group of potentialparticipants in the participation. Initiating bank 602 can modify thegroup or list of potential participants to include the requestor. Thesystem 604 receives instructions from the initiating bank 602 regardingposting and publishing the opportunity 624. Periodically, the systemreceives from prospective participating banks 606 queries foropportunities 626 and responds with list of opportunities responsive tothe queries. The list may be filtered by the system 604 or by anapplication controlled by the prospective participating bank 606.

The details request and confidentiality flow 630 handles requests foradditional information. A request from participating bank 606 ispublished by the system for viewing 632 by the initiating bank 602. Therequest is accompanied by execution of an appropriate confidentialityagreement, such as electronic execution, electronic submission of anexecuted paper document, or electronic verification of a standingagreement between a particular participating bank 606 and the initiatingbank 602. Based on human judgment or prior arrangements 633, theinitiating bank approves at least some requests for detailedinformation. The system 604 receives notice 634 from the initiating bank602 of an approval. The system 604 makes the information available 636.In some implementations, the system 604 provides notification 636 to theparticipating bank 606 that the details have become available. In someimplementations, the confidential information is wrapped in securitycontainer, using a tool such as FinalCode provided by DigitalArts-America. Tools of this sort allow the publisher of information tomonitor and remotely revoke viewing by recipients of confidentialinformation. While such tools cannot prevent all forms of copyingsensitive information, they do ease the burden of destroying detailedinformation about participation opportunities in which potentiallyparticipating bank decides not to proceed.

Reservations and exceptions flow 640 handles reservation requests forour participation in the participation opportunity. A request fromparticipating bank 606 is published by the system for viewing 642 by theinitiating bank 602. For instance, reservation processing 515 can handlethe electronic submission, consideration and approval of the reservationrequests. The initiating bank 602 undertakes its internal processes 643to determine which, if any, of prospective participating banks 606 willbe accepted for participation. The initiating bank 602 is not bound byhaving included a particular prospective participating bank in a trustedgroup. Accepting a reservation request involves separate consideration643 and action by a bank officer or delegate authorized through thesystem 602, who receives acceptance, rejection and waitlist messages 644from the initiating bank 602. The system posts 646 the initiating banksdecisions to the participating bank 606. In some instances, a bank on awaitlist is promoted from the waitlist to being accepted forparticipation. The system 604 advises the prospective participating bankthat they have cleared the waitlist. The system receives a response fromthe prospective participating bank regarding continuing interest in theparticipation opportunity.

The participation documents flow 650 handles execution of documentationfor the participation and can handle documentation between the issuerbank and the borrower. The initiating bank 602 submits executed issuerdocuments for the participation 652 to the system 604. This may be doneby electronic execution, electronic submission of an executed paperdocument, or electronic verification of execution. The system 604functionally connects the initiating bank's execution participationdocuments 652 with notification 654 to accepted participating banks 606and collection of executed participant documents 656. As with the issuerdocuments, the assembly of participant bank documents may be done byelectronic execution, electronic submission of an executed paperdocument, or electronic verification of execution.

The funds escrow flow 660 involves tracking and authorizing movement offunds through a clearing bank, which is labeled loan servicing 608.Following execution participation documents, the participating bank 606satisfies the schedule for remitting funds 662 to a clearing bank. Insome implementations, funds could be submitted to the initiating bank tobe held in trust or to an affiliate of the initiating bank. The system604 collects information 663 regarding receipt of funds by the clearingbank from the participants. It posts funding status information forreview by the initiating bank 602. In due course, the system 604receives a request 664 for participating bank 606 approval to proceedwith disbursement. The system notifies 665 the participating banks 606,receives 666 and collates approvals to proceed. The system canautomatically notify 665 the clearing bank 608 and initiating bank 602that all approvals for disbursement are in place. Outside the system,the clearing bank 608 disperses funds 668 for the benefit of theborrower identified in the participation opportunity. In someimplementations, the funds may be dispersed directly by the clearingbank. In other implementations, the funds passed from the clearing bankto the initiating bank for disbursement to the borrower.

The service reporting flow 670 is generally beyond the scope of thisdisclosure. Service reporting that integrates syndicated loan servicingwith the electronic marketplace is expected to be the subject of afurther disclosure. In general terms, loan servicing organization 608may report 674 loan service performance data to the system 604 forincorporation into a database of performance history 118. Aggregated ordetailed performance history information can be provided to bothinitiating banks 675 and participating banks 676. Loan servicing dataalso can be used 677 by the system 604 to score member banks, which isalso beyond the scope of this disclosure and expected to be the subjectof a further disclosure.

System Operations

One implementation of the technology disclosed is a web based platformfor the banking industry that serves as an online marketplace andvirtual community to coordinate participation in syndicated lending andfacilitate sales of pre-existing funded loans. The platform allows banksto publicize loan participation opportunities and loans for sale. Otherbanks can discover and research the opportunities, and make investmentdecisions and funding commitments. The platform provides tools for allparties to manage the deal process from a) initial offer to b) documenttransfer to c) making reservation commitments to d) actual funding andclosing to e) ongoing performance reporting and monitoring/managementthroughout the remaining life of the loan. The system combines thisautomated support to streamline transaction flow with social tools.

The platform provides a robust set of social tools to promoteinteraction with the web site and other registered users at vetted andtrusted banks. The social component is fully integrated with thetransactional capability. Social features will have signification impacton the ultimate mature stage usage of the platform. The social toolsinclude linking (connecting), activity feeds, following, comments andfeedback (posting), notifications/reminders, and messaging.Notifications, reminders and messaging can be done via email and/or SMS(text messaging). The platform can combines the efficiency of onlineinformation with the human connection provided by social tools tosimplify deal discovery, expand trust in the information and among themember network, and facilitate the transaction process at every stage ofthe life cycle.

There are four basic levels of user in the system: administrator, bankofficer, bank delegate, and tourist. The administrator role is connectedto the platform operator. This role is responsible for productadministration functions such as vetting users who request authorities,transaction business on the network, selecting opportunities and banksto display on the home page, and recording when funds received aredispersed.

The bank officer role is connected to an enrolled member bank. This isthe highest level of authorization for a member. It usually is reservedfor the Chief Credit Officer of the bank. The bank officer is affiliatedwith the bank and authorized to make transactions on the platform thatbind the bank. This includes requesting details of opportunities,subject to confidentiality agreements, and commitment to participate insyndicated loans, in reservation requests. A bank officer is manuallyvetted by a human acting on behalf of the platform. A bank officer hasfull access to information available to the bank, including individualopportunities and full-blown details. The number of users in a bank thatreceives bank officer role authorization can be limited, for instance,to two persons. The Chief Credit Officer can designate a second userwithin the bank to have this highest authorization level.

The bank delegate role can, for instance, be a lender within a bank. Thebank delegate can access information, but does not have authorization tomake transactions. Registration of bank delegates can be verified by thechief credit officer at the bank with which they are affiliated. Thisshifts the registration process from the platform operator to the memberbank for enrollment of bank delegates. Upon approval, the bank delegatecan receive axis to full loan details on a deal-by-deal basis withspecific approval by the bank officer. The system supports messagingfrom the bank delegate to the bank officer and single action approval bythe bank officer to grant or deny access to loan details. Bank delegatesalso can indicate interest in the bank participating alone and suggest apotential investment amount.

Lowest level of authorization is tourist. The tourist is registered witha web site for the platform, but is not affiliated with a member bank.To the extent permitted by initiating banks, tourists can viewindividual opportunities and bank performance data, but cannot access oreven request full loan details. Tourists can follow banks, deals, etc.

The technology disclosed can support both loan participations and resaleof funded loans. Loan participations otherwise referred to asparticipation opportunities. An initiating bank is funding a portion ofthe loan and seeking one or more other banks to get the loan fullyfunded. This kind of transaction is complex and involves simultaneousmanagement of frequent communications with multiple parties. Thetimeline can be unforgiving. These deals are currently handled manuallywith processes that vary from bank to bank. The platform introducesautomated support and a standard information flow for loan participationdeals.

Sale of a loan involves a bank that holds the loan and wishes to sellthe loan outright to another bank. These transactions typically involvetwo parties. Emergence of a marketplace for syndicated loans invitesselling of loans in the same marketplace. Both of these types oftransactions are common in the banking industry due to regulatory loanlimits, capital structure requirements, and risk management techniques.

The principal entities in the platform, from a data, relationship andlifecycle perspective, are banks, users and opportunities. Dataregarding banks is collected from a variety of sources, including FOIArequests to bank regulators. The data collected includes basicidentification and address information, as well as background details oncapitalization and asset quality. Banks contribute to their profiles aloan appetite that specifies preferences for loans that it expects toinitiate, participate in, buy, or sell. Marketplace participationstatistics also can be compiled, including number and dollar amount ofloans initiated, number and dollar amount of loans participated in,average loan size, and social statistics such as number of followers.Statistics can be broken down and displayed by various attributes,including loan type and geography. Bank entities in the platform relateto users and opportunities as follows. Banks are associated with users,both bank officers and bank delegates. Banks have participation and loansales opportunities. Banks participate in opportunities offered byothers and purchase loans. Over time, a bank enrolls in the platform,updates its profile, and may retire from the system. Bank participationin the platform begins when a user registers and requests affiliationand authorization tack on behalf of that particular bank. Some bank datacan be preloaded from regulatory sources. In addition to being displayedas part of the bank's profile, data from regulatory sources will allowusers to select the bank from a dropdown list. After the authorized useris vetted by a human and their registration is approved, the applyinguser or their delegate will complete the bank profile.

User entities will collect data in a profile that includes basicinformation, such as name, contact information, password etc. and theuser's company affiliation. Loan appetite information can pass throughfrom the bank user and can be specialized by an individual user.Platform use statistics can be tracked at an individual level, similarto tracking at a bank level. Resident stirred users can be affiliatedwith the bank and connected to any deal that is active, on either sideof the transaction. Their level connection will depend on whether theyare bank officer or the bank delegate. Over time, the user is enrolled,updates their profile and may retire from the system. Bank officerauthorization requests for vetted by platform that adding staff. Thinkdelegate users can be authorized by bank officers for the same bank.

Opportunity entities in the platform will be published only by the bankofficer. An opportunity can include basic loan details such astransaction type (participation, sale), loan type, total amount,participation amount, rate, borrower, guarantors (number and amountguaranteed), collateral type/amount, LTV, etc. It will also include loandocuments uploaded at various points during participation: prior toissuing the opportunity, at the final closing and funding stage, andalso ongoing regulatory financial performance reporting through the lifeof the loan. Opportunity entities are related to the issuing bankentities and also to any user entities of users who are active on eitherside of the transaction.

An opportunity goes through the following stages. In this list, IBindicates the initiating bank that makes the opportunity available andPB indicates the participating bank that joins in the opportunity.

IB—Initial entry and updates/corrections—opportunity is pending

IB—List (post) opportunity on the marketplace—opportunity is now active(includes agreeing to standard participation certification processes anduse of standard legal agreements)

PB—Requests for loan details (this is equivalent to indicating interest)

PB—Grant access to loan details (CCO grants to lenders)

PB—Access loan details (accept terms of document security access anddestruction)

PB—Reserve spot and commit to loan participation or sale ($ amount)

IB—Accept/select participants or buyers

PB—Confirm acceptance by signing participation certification andagreement (legal commitment to participate or buy)

IB—Maintain and process waitlist, if needed

IB—Pre-close the participation or sale and set funding date

IB—Track funds received and disbursed

IB—Final closing and funding, with final docs uploaded

IB/PB—Transaction feedback from parties of the transaction

IB/PB—Ongoing loan monitoring and management, including uploadingregulatory financial performance reports. This can include notifyingissuing banks of due dates and when new documents have been filed.

During operation, the platform can capture various statistics, includingtransaction counts, loan or participation amount totals and averages forboth users and banks. Capturing running totals saves on sub totaling inresponse to queries.

Opportunities can be searched overall. All results can be viewed or justtop results. Opportunities or banks can be sorted or filtered.Similarly, users of the system can be sorted or filtered. An interactivemap can be provided that details opportunities clustered by area.Opportunities can be displayed at various levels, from nationwide tometropolitan area and even to ZIP Code.

Social aspects of the platform include linking, feeds, notifications andreminders and messaging. At least two levels of linking your connectioncan be provided for trusted counterparts and acquaintances. Other banksor users can be invited to reciprocal linking at either level. Powerstatistics can be generated indicating the number of connections theuser bank has at each level. Activity feeds and the opportunity tofollow others are available and can be applied opportunities, banks orusers. The number of followers can be tracked and published. Marketplaceevents can create automatic postings or notifications, without any useractivity required. For instance opportunities are being followed cangenerate events automatically, without the initiating bank taking anyparticular action. Comments and feedback can be posted to activityfeeds. A summary email, daily weekly or on some other frequency cancombine information from the feed for periodic review. Pendingnotifications can be brought a user's attention when the user signs on.They can be forwarded by email or text message. Messages can betransmitted within the social side of platform.

Many of these features are evident in the following wireframe interfaceexample.

Example Interface Wireframes

FIG. 7 illustrates an example interface that supports browsing ofopportunities and banks. These opportunities and banks may be returnedin response to a search, as top opportunities banks, as recentopportunities and banks, or in response to followings or appetitesspecified by a user or their bank. The opportunities can be displayed intiles, lists or columns of details. In the figure, opportunity contactsidentified with optional thumbnail pictures 710. Tiles 720 foropportunities include initiating bank name and location 721, theparticipation overview of loan type, rate and metropolitan location 722,loan total 724 and the thermometer indication of participationpercentage completion 726. Buttons are provided for more detail 727 andto follow the opportunity. The user can view all opportunities in thesystem by pressing a button 729. Filtering criteria can then be suppliedto narrow down the results, as an alternative to making a detail query.Similar information is available for banks.

Tiles 730 for banks include thing name and location 731 and aggregatestatistics 733. The statistics shown are participations completed,average size, total offerings, average size and number of bankfollowers. The user can follow the bank by pressing a button 725. Theycan view all member banks by pressing button 739.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example interface for applying to join anelectronic loan participation marketplace. In this example interface,make information is been compiled. The user selects the state 813 and/orsearches for particular bank 815. A number of banks are listed and theuser and is invited to select the bank with which they are affiliated.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example interface for viewing and maintaining aparticular user profile. This is the user profile for Brian Fantana, aChief Credit Officer 912. This profile indicates 922 a preference forloans in California, Colorado and Washington. The preferred loan typesare for commercial real estate in California or Washington andcommercial or industrial loans in Colorado or Washington. Deals inprogress for the users profile are shown are represented by tiles 932,but could be represented in lists or columns of details. Socialstatistics 916 for Fantana, in this example, our followers, following,and exit participations. Notes submitted to this user 926 can be listedwith the profile.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example display of historical performance data.Tiles 1022 display opportunities initiated by the user and/or bank. Thehistoric list 1032 of completed transactions may supplement the tiles.This may be a simple list as in the figure or it may include additionalcolumns of statistics and description.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example display of notifications.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example listing of messages. Typically,notifications are system generated and messages come from specific usersor banks. Accordingly, messages can garner replies.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example filter set to select opportunities inColorado for commercial and industrial loans working with banks to havetotal assets the range of $1-$50 million. Applying these filter criteriato the data table provided would eliminate all of the rows visible,because the bank assets listed exceed the total asset criteria forfiltering.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example display of opportunities and prospectsfora particular bank. Individuals affiliated with the bank 1418identified. In some implementations, their names appear upon rollover.In other implementations, some or all their names may be given.Opportunities and process 1422 are displayed as tiles in thisillustration. On the right-hand social column, overview information isprovided, including followers 1428, deals 1438, credit appetite 1448 andan activity feed 1458. The followers may be shown as thumbnails and auser invited to join following of the bank. Deals can be summarized interms of pending deals, completed deals and banks participated with.Drill down to details of these summary statistics may be supported. Thecredit appetite may include locations and loan types. The activity areathey allow posting to the bank.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of bank financials and metrics calculatedfrom unpublished data. One screen of information may be sufficient for achief credit officer to determine whether they have interest inadditional information about or interaction with particular bank.Information such as growth, earnings, asset quality capital, lendinglimit total assets can be provided based on FDIC quarterly data. Growthcan be calculated from unpublished quarterly reports of assets total andloans to regulators. Standard ratios also from the unpublished quarterlyreports. The Texas Ratio reflects underperforming assets in relationshipto capital structure. Other calculated ratios indicate the nonperforming buckets of different loan types as they relate to capitalstructure. Capital ratios are reported by banks to regulators. Totalassets and loans are counts from the reports. Legal lending limits onthe maximum size of an individual are calculated from reported capital.

Financial information can be further detailed as shown in the figure.Year to date, prior year and two prior years periods can be broken outand compared to averages, such as an average for the state in a relevantperiod. Drill down to more detailed financials and linking to sourceFDIC documents may be supported.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example search window and list of opportunitiesreturned by a search. Search criterion in this example include bankname, state, opportunity status, type, loan amount and an opportunity IDfor direct taxes. In this example, results are returned withrepresentative thumbnails and tiles for specific opportunities.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example detailed description of an opportunity.Sections of the detail provided include specific identification theborrower 1710, a description of the opportunity, including alonenarrative and borrowing need 1720, statistics on the loan 1730 and apreliminary underwriting analysis 1740. Details in each of thesecategories are provided in the figure. These details may be accompaniedby documents and participant management tabs.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example listing of displays for particulartransaction. The dashboard of transaction status can appear on this orany other detail page.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example dashboard of loan participantinformation. In this list, the columns included bank name, contactperson, click through for wire information, status of document signing,status of funds to a clearing bank, reservation amount, reservationstatus and editing icons.

Particular Implementations

In one implementation, a method is described that includes forming amarketplace for loan participation among small and medium sized banks,abbreviated SMBs. This method includes receiving more than 100 onlineapplications from SMBs to a participation platform to participate in aloan participation marketplace, routing the online applications to atleast one human to vet by interviewing executives of and/or performingbackground checks on the SMBs, and receiving a signal that the humanvetted and approved enrollment of a particular SMB and enrolling theparticular SMB in the loan participation marketplace. The method furtherincludes receiving a participation opportunity from an initiating bankwith evidence of authorization by an officer of the initiating bank topost the opportunity for electronic access by at least one selectedgroup of prospective participants, the group selected by the initiatingbank. The participation opportunity received is described in a standardfielded format with fields for at least geographic region, total loanamount, loan type, supporting collateral, and initiating bank. Theparticipation platform accepts signals from the initiating bank tocreate one or more named groups of prospective participants fromenrolled SMBs and to select among the named groups when posting theopportunity. Posting of the opportunity enables at least some of theprospective participants to request additional information via theparticipation platform supported by execution of a mutually acceptableconfidentiality agreement.

The method further continues with posting the participation opportunityfor electronic access by the group selected, wherein prospectiveparticipants in the group have permission either to view only theopportunity posting or to request the additional information.

This method and other implementations of the technology disclosed caninclude one or more of the following features and/or features describedin connection with additional methods disclosed. In the interest ofconciseness, the combinations of features disclosed in this applicationare not individually enumerated and are not repeated with each base setof features. The reader will understand how features identified in thissection can readily be combined with sets of base features. Theparticipation opportunity description can include a minimumparticipation amount, a minimum participation amount, a usage of loanproceeds and/or a status indicator of percentage completion ofreservation requests to participate in the participation opportunity.

The method can further include receiving an electronic request foradditional information by an interested prospect belonging to the groupand forwarding the request for consideration by the initiating bank;receiving approval from the initiating bank to provide access to theadditional information upon execution of the mutually acceptableconfidentiality agreement; verifying execution by an officer of theprospective participant of the mutually acceptable confidentialityagreement; and making the additional information available forelectronic access by the interested prospect.

Practicing this method, the mutually acceptable confidentialityagreement includes terms for return or destruction of the additionalinformation. With this feature, the method further includes receiving asignal that the interested prospect has withdrawn its interest or thatthe initiating bank has withdrawn approval for access to the additionalinformation; tracking the return or certification of destruction of theadditional information; and closing the tracking responsive to a signalthat the return or certification of destruction has been accomplished.

Some implementations of this method employ software that permits remoterevocation of rights to view, print or otherwise use confidential data.In these implementations, withdrawal of interest by participating bankor withdrawal of approval by the initiating bank may be directlyfollowed by revocation of rights to the confidential data.

Method can further include receiving a reservation request andcommitment amount by the interested prospect; receiving signal ofapproval of the reservation request by the initiating bank; and updatinga committed subscription percentage of the participation opportunity.This can extend to repeatedly receiving reservation requests, commitmentamounts and signals of reservation approval until the committedsubscription percentage equals or exceeds a ceded part of the total loanamount; and flagging that the participation opportunity is ready toproceed to closing.

On occasion, over-subscription to the participation opportunity happens.Then, the method can further include receiving signals from theinitiating bank selecting participating banks from those givenreservation approval; notifying non-selected banks who had receivedreservation approval of non-selection and soliciting requests to beplaced on a standby list; receiving acceptances of standby list status;and posting to the acceptances of the standby list status for electronicaccess by the initiating bank.

The method can further include receiving signals from the initiatingbank setting funding and closing dates; receiving an electronic copy ofexecuted issuer-side documents or an electronic execution of theissuer-side documents for the participation opportunity; posting thefunding and closing dates and copies the executed issuer-side documentsor verification of execution for electronic access by packageparticipating banks.

The method can further include receiving electronic confirmation from aclearing bank that committed funds from the package participating bankshave been deposited with the clearing bank; posting copies of executedparticipant-side documents or verification of execution for electronicaccess by the initiating bank and the package participating banks;receiving electronic approvals of disbursement from the packageparticipating banks; and electronically forwarding to the clearing bankan aggregate approval of disbursement of the deposited funds for fundingby the initiating bank, responsive to the electronic approvals by thepackage participating banks.

The method can further include receiving an electronic request for bankperformance data by an interested prospect belonging to the group;retrieving information compiled from banking regulators regarding thebank performance; and posting the requested bank performance data forelectronic access by the interested prospect. The electronic requestbank performance data can further be satisfied by retrieving informationcompiled by a loan servicing organization regarding performance of loanshandled by a bank identified in the electronic request for bankperformance data; and posting the information from the loan servicingorganization with the requested bank performance data for electronicaccess by the interested prospect.

The method can further include receiving an electronic search request byan interested prospect; searching a database of more than 100participation opportunities responsive to the request; and returningsearch results to the interested prospect. The search request canspecify a geographic region and at least one category of use of loanproceeds.

Other implementations may include non-transitory computer readablestorage medium storing instructions executable by a processor to performa method is described above. Yet another implementation may include asystem with memory and one or more processors operable to executeinstructions stored in memory to perform a method is described above.

1. A method comprising: storing on a network-based non-transitory storage device a collection of participation opportunities, each participation opportunity stored in a standard fielded format, comprising fields for at least geographic region, total loan amount, loan type, supporting collateral, and initiating bank, and each participation opportunity identifying a loan to be offered by a plurality of small and medium sized banks, abbreviated SMBs, acting collectively; providing remote access over a computer network to prospective initiating banks and participant banks, wherein a user at any of the banks can submit new or updated information, stored by the bank in a non-standard format, about a participation opportunity through a graphic user interface dependent on non-standardized hardware and software platform used by one of the banks, and the participation opportunity submitted with evidence of authorization by an officer of the one of the banks; converting, by a combination of code implementing the graphic user interface at the one of the banks and an opportunity engine server, the new or updated information regarding the participation opportunity from the non-standardized hardware and software platform into the standard fielded format for the participation opportunities and storing the participation opportunity in the standard fielded format; further receiving from the one of the banks via the computer network signals to create one or more named groups of prospective participant banks from enrolled SMBs and to authorize transmission the participation opportunity to at least one named group, automatically authorizing immediate access to the participation opportunity, by the prospective participant banks belonging to the at least one named group and accepting requests additional information, when supported by a mutually acceptable confidentiality agreement; and transmitting the participation opportunity over the computer network, beginning immediately after receipt of the signal to authorize transmission, responsive to requests for information from the prospective participant banks in the at least one named group and processing at least one request for additional information. 